


fishbone

by JadedButler



Category: Chainsaw Man (Manga)
Genre: Bittersweet, Light Angst, M/M, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:27:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28870815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadedButler/pseuds/JadedButler
Summary: a stolen kiss through a gifted handkerchief
Relationships: Angel Devil/Hayakawa Aki
Comments: 10
Kudos: 105





	1. Don't Come Closer, Don't, Don't Let Go of Me

**Author's Note:**

> it's me again with more bittersweet akitenshi vibes pls enjoy!!!  
> again i don't think you will find any spoilies here

Angel Devil blinks. 

To his right, the bluish light of dawn squeezes between the curtains of this drab little hotel room. Not bright enough to warrant being awake, and yet…

Ah. This sucks.

He turns onto his back, squishing his wings into the cheap mattress, and stares lifelessly up at the ceiling. White stucco. An ugly texture, and yet he can’t bring himself to look away. Just lays still and waits for the aftertaste of his unpleasant dreams to subside. 

After what feels like an eternity (but is probably only like four minutes), he gives up and forces himself to sit up. Rubs his eyes with the back of his palm, pressing into his eyeballs in a fruitless attempt to clear his mind of static. 

He pulls his fingers through his unkempt hair, then lets it fall over his face like a curtain of pale red. Steals a glance to his left, at the bed next to his. 

Aki is lying on his back, his dark hair untied and splayed across the pillow under his head. He has one hand resting on his stomach, which subtly rises and falls with each rhythmic breath. 

Still sleeping, huh? Lucky…

...Or not. Although Aki’s breathing is soft and steady, Angel Devil can see the glimmer of tears sticking to his lashes like dew. He’s sweating too, enough for his hair to stick to his temples. And on closer inspection...he’s kinda vice-gripping his sheets, holding on for dear life. 

Naturally, Angel Devil’s not the only one whose sleep is plagued by nightmares. What a charming side effect to being a devil/ hunter.

Stifling a yawn, Angel slides out of bed, his bare feet padding against the carpeted floor. He doesn’t feel like getting up (he never does), but the alternative seems much more painful right now. 

The hotel room is a cramped, east-facing sixth-floor suite with dull grey-blue walls, void of any decor or furniture aside from the twin beds and a nightstand holding an alarm clock burning red with the wrong time of day. As if Public Safety couldn’t afford to put them somewhere a bit nicer for this mission. Not that Angel cares. 

He takes his time getting dressed, outfit complete with a black two-piece suit, white sneakers, and black leather gloves. Then, careful not to let too much light into the room, Angel Devil slips between the curtains and cranks open the window. Just large enough for him to stick his torso out, exposing himself to the cool early morning air. It’s quiet, save for the hum of distant traffic. Peaceful. Boring.

After a few more minutes of listless morning dissociation, Angel Devil tears himself away from the window. Steps back into the room, noting that even all that didn’t kill enough time for Aki to wake up from his uneasy dreams. If anything, his expression has grown more pained since Angel last checked.

Angel Devil chews his lower lip. He isn’t sure what to do in situations like this. Wake him up? Let him sleep? As he ruminates, Aki shivers slightly in his sleep, as though from a chill, although he’s sweating worse than before. 

Huh. Angel fishes through the pockets of his suit jacket until he withdraws a cloth-- the handkerchief Aki had given him on one of their first missions together. Cautiously, he sits on the edge of Aki’s bed. He’s light, so the mattress barely sinks from his weight.

“Hey. Aki.” he says in a quiet monotone. No response. 

Angel Devil has his gloves on, so it should be fine just to wipe some of the sweat off? He reaches over, hovering his handkerchief over Aki’s forehead. For a fleeting moment, he feels his nerve waver, _what the hell am I doing._ However, the feeling is cut short as Aki’s arm shifts abruptly in his sleep, limply falling closer to Angel’s thigh.

“Ah--” startled by the sudden movement, Angel drops the cloth, which falls in a flat square across Aki’s entire face... Fuck. Now he just looks like a corpse.

The handkerchief is delicate and white, almost translucent. Angel Devil stares down for a few moments through half-lidded eyes, then presses his gloved fingertip against Aki’s mouth through the cloth. There’s more give than he expected. 

He pulls his hand back to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. Holding the hair in place, he lowers his face down to Aki’s.

“Hey,” he repeats, quieter this time. Still no response. Angel Devil’s breath hitches as he takes a breath and presses his lips against the handkerchief. The fabric of the cloth is thin enough that he can feel Aki’s warmth against his skin. Ugh... He’s not sure what he expected, pulling something like this, but all he’s left with is a gross heart palpitation and a sad, sticky sense of guilt that curls around his chest.

Angel grimaces. Mission failed; he really shouldn’t do things that go outside his character.

Pinching a corner of the handkerchief between his thumb and forefinger, Angel Devil pulls back the cloth. He’s met with a sliver of green peeking from behind Aki’s narrowly open eyelids.

“...”

A bead of sweat rolls down Angel’s temple. 

“Pretending to sleep?” he quips dryly, aware that it’s far too late to be playing it cool. 

“Hard to sleep when someone’s trying to put a shroud over me,” Aki murmurs, blinking away residual tears. He squeezes his right eye shut, and Angel can’t help but wonder if the Future Devil ratted him out. 

He’s not particularly flustered. Really, he’s not. But his wings do flare out and he rises, moving to pull away. But Aki sits up to grab him by the arm, restraining him from his tactical retreat. 

“....Let go.”

“Where are you going?”

“I was thinking the window was the fastest escape route.”

“We’re on the sixth floor…”

“And? You think these wings are just for fun?” 

Aki snorts. He relaxes his grip and lets his fingers slide down Angel Devil’s arm, down, down until he finally catches him by the hand. Then pulls hard enough to reel Angel back towards himself and catches him in his arms, pressing his forehead into Angel’s back, just under his wings. Is he still half-asleep? He’s not exactly the clingy type...

The closeness is unfamiliar. The feeling of a human’s heart beating near his own body...unfamiliar. Angel bites his lip hard, but it does nothing to help him process the situation. 

“I thought you hated devils with a passion,” he finally mutters, frozen still with the anxiety that he might make the wrong move and drag this fragile human closer to the brink of death. Even more mortified by how comfortable he feels in this moment. 

“Don’t get too attached…”

“Says the guy who was stealing my lips while I was asleep.”

“...Shut up. It doesn’t count if there was a barrier.” 

“Oh really?” _No..._

After an agonizing pause, Aki’s arms tense around Angel and his tone drops to a muffled whisper. “Next time, you can make it count.”

Angel Devil’s eyes widen and he sits up again, ripping himself out of Aki’s tight grip. 

“Are you serious?” he snaps, turning to face Aki’s sleepy smile, that hardly reaches his eyes. Well, it rarely does.

Angel Devil frowns. While he can’t exactly deny the temptation, it also pisses him off a bit. He extends his gloves fingers and slides them against Aki’s lips. Anything to clear that pained smile. Pushes in, shoving his fingertips against his tongue.

“Is it this mouth? That’s saying such unreasonable things.” Angel Devil mutters, probing deeper. He’s frustrated, with Aki of course, but also with himself. 

Aki can’t reply, but unlike his mouth, his fingers are free and he runs them along Angel’s waist, his back, his upper thighs, searching. He’s not bold so much as desperate, his touch just short of bruising. Angel briefly wonders if he’s had any experience with other partners in bed.

 _Nothing healthy, knowing him. Not that this is healthy, either..._

Angel Devil fixes his mouth into a slight pout and pulls his hand away, fingers slick with saliva. Aki’s lips stay slightly parted, his green gaze fixed on Angel Devil as he kisses his own fingertips… as Angel Devil guides Aki’s hands to his sides and climbs on top of him, in a straddling position. Places his hand on Aki’s chest and lets his wings flare out for balance. 

“Don’t use me to hurt yourself.”

Aki flinches. “.......I’m sorry.”

 _So honest_. Angel doesn’t really want Aki’s apology. He just doesn’t want Aki to want to die.

This sentiment catches in Angel Devil’s throat like a fishbone. He’d left the window open earlier, and a morning breeze disrupts the curtains such that the light of dawn bleeds into the room, catching the glow of his halo.

It isn’t until Aki picks the fallen handkerchief off the bed and gently presses it to Angel’s cheek that he realizes he’s been crying. He squeezes his eyes shut, only to feel the familiar sensation of light cloth press against his lips...


	2. I'm Like Porcelain When You're With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki's perspective of chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> couldn't stop thinking about Aki's POV here, so ...there u go;;;

_ Is a good night’s rest really so much to ask for? _

Aki is lucid enough to know he’s dreaming, but not enough to do anything about it. Guilt squeezes around his throat like a garrote and leaves him limp and helpless, like a broken puppet. He’s forced to watch his worst memories replay in dull monochrome, interlaced with bloodied images of deaths that haven’t happened yet.

He has no way of knowing whether these are just machinations of his overworked, overcursed mind, or if they’re actual visions of the future, courtesy of  _ that  _ bastard--

Without warning, Aki’s dream seems to skip and jitter, then snuffs out entirely. Through the darkness in the back of his mind, a familiar voice hums like static feed:

_ “Hey͟,̸ sl҉e̛epin̴g bea͝u͜ty҉~ _ ”

...Speak of the devil. Future Devil, that is. Rearing his horned head in Aki’s subconscious to interrupt his regularly scheduled nightmares. The massive omniscient eye in the centre of Future Devil’s chest winks and, at the same time, Aki’s right eye throbs painfully. Both in dream, and in real life.

_ “You ͟mig͘h͢t w̢ant̵ ̵t͠o̕ wake ͜up for̵ ͏t̸ḩi̷s on̶e.” _

Geh. A flashforward. Aki mentally braces himself for the Future Devil to show him a realization of his nightmares. Denji, dead. Power, dead. Makima…

But nothing can prepare him for the vision he actually receives. 

_ Wait…. _

_ ….What?  _

“ _ A͞n̴d͏ yo̧u sa̡y ͘I͢ onl̕y͟ ̶g͜i̷ve yo͟u̡ b͟ad̷ ͘f̨utur͏e̢s͞ ̧♡”  _

_ Wait wait wait. What am I supposed to --  _

“Aki.” 

The first thing Aki sees when he wakes up is… nothing. Well, more of a colourless, shadowy white that clouds his line of sight. If he hadn’t just gotten advance warning from Future Devil, he’d probably think he’s finally gone blind. 

But he knows what’s happening. Doesn’t have a clue what to do about any of it, though. 

Not the light cloth shrouding his face, nor the warmth of the slight body next to his, nor the soft sound of Angel Devil’s breath right before he kisses him --

Was he the type to be proactive?  _ That _ Angel Devil, that can’t be fucked to put his own shoes on half the time and barely tolerates human trifles to begin with, let alone something so brazen as a stolen kiss?

Aki is so surprised by the gap, he doesn’t have time to focus on his usual morning melancholy.

He also doesn’t have time to react when Angel Devil suddenly pulls the cloth away. They make brief, awkward eye contact. Although his vision is blurred by tears and his right eye is still throbbing painfully, Aki can still clearly see Angel’s doll-like demeanour contort into a subtle grimace.

Pff. 

They fall into some light banter. It flows naturally enough, although the tension between them slowly grows heavier with each passing quip. “Next time you can make it count”, it’s a bad joke, of course. But for a split second, somewhere in Aki’s unraveling heart, he really does feel that a few weeks of his life is a small price to pay for a direct kiss.  _ Then at least it would seem like it was all worth it- _ -

But even as a joke, it seems to flip a switch in Angel Devil. The lazy, apathetic prince of death flares up, pale irises burning with emotion that Aki has never seen him wear before. Something like frustration. He shoves his thin, gloved fingers into Aki’s mouth, silencing him from any more self-destructive talk.

It’s difficult to breathe or swallow. Stifling. Not unlike the asphyxiation in his nightmares.

But unlike the claustrophobic existential dread that creeps into his every waking (and sleeping) moment, Aki welcomes the breathlessness that comes with this almost-skinship. Manhandled by a beautiful creature. He relaxes his jaw and his inhibitions, letting his hands roam carelessly against Angel’s clothes. 

Regretfully, he has to admit a switch has been flipped in him too. Aki’s used to having people direct their concern at him, but never in such an unexpected , erotic way. 

After Angel gets on top, pinning Aki to the cheap hotel mattress, his expression shifts once more. Aki grips his slender waist between his hands, tilting his chin back and watches closely as a rare tear rolls silently down Angel Devil’s cheek.

“Don’t use me to hurt yourself.” 

Both a reprimand and a plea. Aki knows he deserves it, but hearing the words aloud still stings. Not because it’s true -- Aki doesn’t lack so much self-awareness that he doesn’t realize how reckless and painful his approach to what’s left of his life comes off. 

But after all those times Angel has lamented the burden of being alive… to have him forbid Aki from echoing the same sentiments cuts Aki with such an overwhelming sense of tenderness that he can’t bear it. In the same way that his affection for Denji and Power have left him with useless emotions like hope and desperation, he knows full well that this unnamed feeling is going to hurt in ways he can’t fathom further down the line. 

Well, it’s too late anyways. Future Devil had warned him about this in dream, but there’s nothing he can do about it; he picks up the handkerchief Angel Devil had stolen his lips with. Sits up, shifting his weight so he can still cradle Angel in one arm, and with his free hand he dabs the corner of the devil’s weeping eye. 

He’s close enough to feel the heat of his breath, see his lips glisten under the dull glow of his halo. But he can’t sate the desire to bite Angel Devil’s pouting lips, so he compromises by returning the favour: presses the handkerchief against Angel’s mouth. Angel seems to relax, melting into Aki as they kiss through the thin barrier of the cloth.

A rough, lightly chafing sensation. Entranced, Aki instinctively drags the fingers of his free hand against Angel Devil’s chest. The fabric of his white button up is thin enough as well. The devil shudders at the touch, and the feathers of his wings seem to rustle in response. 

“Ah--” 

Eyes open, Aki watches a flush creep over Angel Devil’s porcelain complexion. Maybe it’s because he’s not used to being touched, but he seems particularly sensitive. He grips his gloved hands onto Aki’s shoulders to steady himself, his own eyes shut once more to indulge in Aki’s touch.

The handkerchief drops once more. “I’m sorry,” Aki murmurs again, bowing his head so that his lips are dangerously close to Angel Devil’s ear. The devil’s hair tickles the side of Aki’s face, and it takes all of his self control not to lean in closer and kiss the side of his neck.

“I’m not trying to use you. I’m just so fucking tired.”

Angel Devil squeezes Aki’s shoulders in response, arching his back slightly as Aki snakes his fingers along his spine, up between his wings. He’s a devil, but his body emits heat and his heart beats frantically, betraying his apathetic nature.

“...Idiot.”

There’s work to do today. Devils to hunt, orders to obey. Revenge to exact. The fully dressed Angel stays wrapped in Aki’s arms until they cannot turn their heads away from the morning light any longer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well once again i've blueballed you all LOL... i just can't get these two off my damn mind !!!! hopefully i can also infect you guys with akitenshi brainthoughts hhhhh  
> the chapter titles are song lyrics from porcelain by skott ??????? idk i just work here

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this meal, i peppered in just a dash of spice but i fear i may left you all feeling a little blue-balled. i almost want to continue this with more of a ~love~ scene but we'll see.
> 
> anyways i love you all dearly and tenderly, thank you so much for reading ;;


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